


Dragonminds

by QueenSabriel



Category: Criminal Minds, Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
Genre: AU, Crossover, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-28
Updated: 2013-02-24
Packaged: 2017-11-13 01:31:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/497932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenSabriel/pseuds/QueenSabriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ultimate mashup where the BAU meets high fantasy/scifi. </p><p>With senseless violence creeping across the face of Pern, and needless deaths growing in number, weyrleader A'ron assembles a unique team of dragon riders to get to the bottom of it. </p><p>((Written so CM fans who have not read the Pern series can still enjoy ;) ))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Found

**Author's Note:**

> This is both an alternate BAU (obviously) and an alternate Pern (for the hardcore fans who want to get nitpicky) so allow creative license on both counts! Don't ask why I decided to mash these two together. I just really liked the idea of our BAU badasses on dragons.

Chapter 1: Found

  


 

> _"But our glorious past...is past."_
> 
> __\- Dragonseye

 

 

 

 A’ron, rider of the bronze dragon Hotcheth, weyrleader of Benden, sat in his office staring blankly down at the sheets of parchment spread before him. His mind was in the other room, the sleeping quarters where Haley was coaxing their son to sleep, aided by the soft humming of Hotcheth and Hayley’s golden Brooth where they sat on their ledge.

There was a knock at the door, and A’ron looked up to see his wingsecond, J’son, enter. J’son usually looked worried, but now even more so. “For the first time in history people are more afraid of each other than they are of Threadfall.”

“During long intervals people always forget the dangers of Thread,” A’ron replied. But even as he spoke his stomach churned at the thought of the silvery parasite, hungry for any living substance it could reach as it rained down.

“That’s not what I meant,” J’son said, taking a seat. “You know the rumors coming from the northern holds. We need someone to enforce the charter between every hold, hall and weyr, not just leave it up to individual lords.”

A’ron scowled. “And you think this should be the dragonriders’ responsibility?” 

“Yes,” J’son said. “Because dragonriders are mostly the problem.” He nodded to the papers before A’ron. “Two riders were murdered last week in High Reaches. Two turns ago there were the string of deaths at Fort Weyr. A’ron, we are the only ones who understand human and dragon behavior.”

“So...what, you’re saying riders should focus on learning human behavior?”

“Only to prevent more...crimes from happening. A’ron, Brooth has laid her largest clutch yet. Forty-two eggs harden on the hatching ground sands, and a new queen among them. After the hatching, lets observe the new riders, choose ones that strike us as particularly insightful, and see what we can come up with.”

A’ron rubbed his hand over his forehead, then nodded. “Very well.” 

“Thank you..” J’son gave a little half bow and slipped out. 

As the door closed behind him, Hotcheth’s voice echoed in A’ron’s mind. _I am not sure how I feel about our bond being used to track and capture other humans. Potentially other riders._

__

“You think that’s worse than letting deranged minds be allowed to harm others?” A’ron retorted. 

_No. But I am worried that those given such responsibility would take advantage._

__

“As with everything,” A’ron said. “We’ll just have to be careful.”

 

***

 

Spencer sat on the front steps of the Harper Hall, enjoying the brilliant, late summer morning when the dragons came. The other apprentices were in class, but an advantage to having a former master composer for a mother meant that he had learned most musical theory when he was a small child, and now was allowed time for independent studies. And today it meant he was the first to see the dragons appear, circling high above the Hall. 

By the time the six great beasts - two blue, three green and one magnificent bronze - had landed, the rest of the Hall had been alerted to their presence. With news of the Benden Queen Brooth’s latest clutch having spread even this far, there was no doubt what the riders had come for, and so the masters were busy hurrying all the children above the age of twelve turns old out into the courtyard.  The last clutch had been five turns previous, when Spencer was eleven, but it had been so small that there had been no need to Search as far as Harper Hall.

This time, with forty two eggs, they would be looking for as many candidates as possible. Spencer abruptly found himself pushed along with (or more accurately, as always, to the side of) a swarm of his class mates. Then silence fell as the six riders approached, because everyone recognized the stern faced weyrleader A’ron and knew this Search was an important one. 

As Spencer discovered shortly, the actual process of Searching was not very exciting. It mainly consisted of allowing the green and blue dragons to observe the possible candidates. Quickly bored, Spencer found a place to sit on the grass. He pulled a piece of well-marked hide and a pen out of the leather satchel he almost always wore, and set about continuing his latest composition. He became so absorbed in his work that he didn’t even realize when one of the riders approached him.

When he did, he quickly put his things away and scrambled to his feet. “Oh...I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“My Strauth is quite taken with you,” the rider said. She was an older woman, with a stern face and light hair. As she spoke she nodded to the nearest dragon, a large, emerald colored one. “I am green rider Erin. Tell me, Apprentice Spencer, have you ever given thought to being a dragonrider?” 

He didn’t have to ask how she knew his name; looking over, Spencer could see one of his teachers nearby, grinning in his direction. He gave himself a little shake, because what Erin had said was just sinking in. “You mean…” 

“Go pack your things, boy,” she said, nodding back to the Hall. “You’re coming to Benden.”

 

***

 

Two other children from Harper Hall had been found, though Spencer didn’t know either of them personally. As he watched his few belongings being strapped to Strauth’s back, Spencer was suddenly hit with the full realization of what was happening. He was about to leave the place he had spent his whole life in, leave it for a weyr on the other side of the continent. A weyr where he would either experience the insurmountable joy and honor of Impressing a dragon, or the disappointment of being left on the hatching ground sands. 

“Spencer.” His mother was not often allowed outside, and never without the company of a nurse from the Healer Hall. She got lost too easily, and sick too often. But now of course, for this, she had been allowed out with the other parents, and brought Spencer his traveling jacket. “You will need this. _Between_ is very cold.”

“I know.” Spencer took the jacket, then abruptly wrapped his arms around her thin form. “I...I’m afraid.”

Diana hugged her only child close, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “You are going away to become something great, Spencer,” she said, her hands on his shoulders now. “You will Impress. And you will be the most brilliant dragonrider Pern has ever known.”

Spencer nodded and blinked back tears. He didn’t want the weyrleader, of all people, to see him cry.

“Just remember,” his mother continued. “Whether or not you become a dragon rider, if you make Benden your home or return to Harper Hall, whatever you do, I am proud of you.” 

“Thank you.” Spencer kissed her cheek, pulling his jacket on and turning before he could lose heart. 

Erin was waiting at Strauth’s side to help Spencer onto the dragon’s back. He settled in behind one of the neck ridges. Greens were one of the smallest dragons, and yet he still felt slightly dizzy looking down. Erin sprang easily up into the saddle behind him. 

“Your mother says you’ve never been a-dragonback before,” she said, checking the straps one last time. “Hold tight to that ridge in front of you, you’re not strong enough to hurt Strauth. We will fly up, and then jump Between. It is very quick, but very shocking the first time.”

Spencer shivered involuntarily. _Between._ The empty, black nothingness dragons used to travel instantly from one place to another. One boy in his class had recounted a trip on a dragon, and described Between only as the most frightening experience of his young life. 

“Strauth says she thinks you’ll be fine,” Erin said as the dragon started to move.

With that reassurance in mind, Spencer held tight as Strauth took a great leap skyward, wings beating the air, sending them higher and higher. The rectangle of Harper Hall shrank away below them, and with it everything Spencer had ever known. He forced himself to look away, out across the landscape of Pern, up into the clear blue sky. 

And then, nothing. 

Black, frozen silence pressed in on Spencer’s ears. Even through his warm clothes, ice seemed to bite into the very marrow of his bones. He opened his mouth to cry out, but he had no voice. A bit of song came to him then, out of the back of his mind:

_Black, blacker, blackest,_

_And cold beyond all frozen -_

__

Before he could finish they burst into the warm, wonderful golden afternoon sunlight above Benden Weyr. Spencer nearly cried from relief, for in those few seconds Between he was sure they would never make it. And indeed, he could hear the youngest boy from Harper Hall, who sat astride one of the blue dragons, sobbing and being reassured by his rider. 

All Erin needed to say to Spencer was, “Welcome to Benden, lad.”

The weyrs - there were five on all of Pern - were where dragons and their riders lived. Vast, self sufficient complexes consisting of living halls, kitchens, training grounds, hatching grounds, gardens, the fire heights where blue or browns kept watch with their riders. As Strauth and the others circled closer Spencer could see the great bowl shaped hatching ground, and even just barely make out the dark holes of individual weyrs along its walls, where dragons of all colors were coming and going. 

“I think I can see Brooth down on the sands!” Spencer gasped, leaning over so far that Erin grabbed him around the waist. 

“Bravery going Between is one thing,” Erin said sharply as they finally came to land. “Stupidity is leaning so far over that you nearly fall off your dragon.” 

Spencer mumbled an apology, and Strauth let out a noise that he could only guess was the dragons way of laughing.

 

***

 

By dinnertime, Spencer was thoroughly homesick. It wasn’t that the basic ways of life around the weyr were all that different from the Harper Hall. It was more that he didn’t know his place, didn’t know who he should talk to and who he should avoid. The fifty two candidates were divided into dormitories, and Spencer was disheartened to realize that all the boys in his room seemed to already have friends here. When the dinner bells rang, he remained sitting on the edge of his bed, hugging his satchel to his chest and unsure if he even wanted to go down to the dining hall, if it meant that he would be sitting alone. 

“Hey,” a voice said suddenly from the doorway. “You’re not just going to sit on your bed all night, are you?” 

Spencer looked up in surprise, and saw a girl of about his own age standing there. She had blond hair drawn back into two braids, a soft, friendly face, and her clothes were both expertly made and of the brightest colored fabric Spencer had ever seen outside a gather. The girl must have noticed something in Spencer’s gaze for she stepped into the room. 

“You haven’t made any friends yet either, huh?” she asked, then smiled again. “I’m Penelope, I’m from the Weaver Hall. It’s so frustrating, almost all of the girls here are weyr-bred, so they’ve grown up here and are best friends already!” 

“I’m Spencer, from Harper Hall.” He got to his feet, and pointed to the Harper Crest on his bag. “But...I didn’t really have any good friends there either.”

“Oh! But you’re so cute!” Penelope cried, surprising him yet again. She waved one hand dismissively and linked her arm through his, tugging him to the hall. “Well, I guess we’ll be friends then. Come on.”

As they neared the dining hall the smells of dinner wafted up to them and Spencer’s stomach rumbled. Inside the hall, there were four large tables for the candidates, set up perpendicular to the main tables where some of the senior riders - Weyrleader A’ron and weyrwoman Haley included - sat. 

“Right,” Penelope said, staring around. “Now, where to sit…” 

“Penelope?” A girl sitting at the table nearest them waved to get Penelope’s attention. “Your name’s Penelope right? I think you’re in my dorm, I saw you earlier.” She waved them over, scooting to the side to make room for them on the long wooden bench. When they had sat, she sent them both a light smile. “I’m Jennifer.”

“I am indeed Penelope,” Penelope said brightly. “And this is my friend Spencer, from the Harper Hall.” 

Jennifer’s light blue eyes widened. “Oh! I love music...I’m not really any good at it, but we need more musicians in the weyr. What do you play?”

“Flute and guitar,” Spencer said softly, until Penelope nudged him teasingly in the ribs and he repeated himself a little louder. “And I sing, and do a bit of composition. My, my mother used to be the Master Composer.”

Both girls ‘ooohed!’ appreciatively at that. 

“I’m born and raised here at Benden,” Jennifer said, sounding almost sheepish about that. “So if you two have any questions, or want someone other than one of the senior riders to show you around…” 

Spencer guessed, correctly, that Jennifer was a little older than him, so he immediately asked, “Did you stand at the last hatching?” 

“Yeah,” Jennifer said, nodding. “But there was no queen egg, and only two greens, so the odds weren’t really in favor for any of the girls.” 

Penelope nodded up towards the main table. “Who are the riders sitting with the weyrwoman?” 

“Well, you know A’ron, I’m sure,” Jennifer said. “On his right is his wingsecond, J’son, rider of bronze Gideoth. On J’son’s right is D’vid, rider of bronze Rossith. The others are the different wingleaders.”

They were momentarily distracted as drudges brought steaming dishes of food to the table; roast wherry, stewed vegetables, freshly baked rolls and more sauces and side dishes than Spencer could name. When they had all filled their plates, Penelope shot Spencer another amused look. 

“When you become a rider, I wonder what they’ll shorten your name to,” she said. 

“ _If_ I become a rider,” Spencer said. Then he brightened. “Did you know the name shortening tradition comes from the first Threadfalls? Riders would shout each others names so quickly that they got slurred, so it became customary to just drop part of the first syllable…” He frowned. “My mother wasn’t really thinking of that when she named me.”

“S’ncer,” Jennifer said, pronouncing it like _sensor._ “I bet that’s what they’ll shorten it to.”

“It’s a good thing they don’t do that for girls,” Penelope said, with a look of mock horror. “I’d be...what? P’lope? That sounds like the noise a herdbeast makes when it -” But she stopped herself, dissolving into a fit of giggles.  

Spencer exchanged a look with Jennifer, and they both broke into laughter as well. He realized that the homesickness was almost entirely gone, replaced instead by a feeling of...belonging. He busied himself tasting some of the sweet sauces, but Spencer found himself vaguely wishing to Impress a dragon just so he could stay here with his new friends.


	2. There Be Dragons

"Ours is not to wonder what were fair in life" - Red Star Passes

***

Spencer found the routine of weyr life incredibly comforting, even if it meant spending a good portion of the day performing menial chores. Many of these tasks - replacing dying glow baskets, fetching and refilling supplies - were things he had done as an apprentice at Harper Hall, so it was all very familiar. Besides, J’son had said he expected it to only be another sevenday or so until the eggs hatched.

Evenings were allowed for relaxing, and the candidates were encouraged to practice their various crafts if they had them. A’ron had stressed how dragonriders come from different backgrounds, and the importance of a variety of skills within the weyrs and wings.

One night, just as the shadows were lengthening, Spencer went out alone to one of the small courtyards to practice his flute in peace. Stepping through the little arched entryway he found he was not alone. J’son sat on a stone bench playing a well-loved guitar. Forgetting his manners, Spencer stood nearby, watching the bronze rider and listening to the soft tune he coaxed from the strings.

When he finished, J’son looked up. “You’re one of the lads from Harper Hall, aren’t you?” he asked, nodding at the flute in Spencer’s hands.

“Yes,” Spencer said, then quickly bowed. “Spencer, sir. My mother is master composer Diana.”

J’son nodded. “I know her. I’m from the hall myself, though I left long before you were born.”

“I didn’t know that,” Spencer said. “You...you’re a very skilled player, sir.”

“Thank you.” The faintest hint of a smile crossed J’son’s features. He gestured at Spencer. “Play something for me. One of your mother’s compositions.” Then he winked. “Gideoth is just above us, he enjoys music as much as I do.”

Spencer couldn’t help but look up, wondering how he possibly could have missed a bronze dragon. But Gideoth was tucked into the deep shadows of a rocky niche, so all that was visible was one bright eye, glowing a calm, dark blue. Spencer looked down again and wet his lips before raising the flute to them and beginning a soft, melancholy but beautiful tune his mother had written a few turns past, inspired, she had said, by the forest rivers.

When he started on the first variation of the main theme, his eyes closed, he heard J’son join in on the guitar, strumming out the accompanying chords and occasionally plucking out a harmony.

“I think we may have a new weyrsinger, A’ron,” J’son said after a while. “Assuming the boy Impresses, that is.”

Spencer nearly dropped his flute in surprise. A’ron stood in the archway, listening to them with a thoughtful frown. He nodded at J’son’s words, eyes flicking momentarily to Spencer before they returned to his wingsecond.

“We need to meet with D’vid and Erin,” he said to J’son. “There’s been an urgent message from Telgar.”

“Trouble?” J’son got quickly to his feet, following his weyrleader out of the courtyard and leaving Spencer behind. The two older men spoke in hushed tones as they went, so Spencer didn’t catch what they were saying.

He looked up and saw that Gideoth was still watching him, though now the dragon’s eyes were a concerned, muddy orange. Spencer swallowed and quickly turned to head back inside.

***

“Did he say what kind of trouble?” Jennifer asked when Spencer joined her and Penelope in one of the common areas and told them what had happened.

Spencer shrugged. “No, but A’ron looked worried. What kind of trouble happens at a weyr where they need to alert another one?”

“Other than threadfall?” Jennifer shrugged. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t worry about it though, it’s not our concern.”

Still, when they didn’t see the weyrleader and his wingsecond until well into the following evening, Spencer couldn’t put aside the feeling that there was something happening that the candidates didn’t know about.

***

A few days later, just after breakfast, D’vid took half the candidates to see the hatching grounds.

“I certainly don’t envy those that have to go in the afternoon,” Jennifer said as she, Spencer and Penelope trailed after the others. “The sands are hot enough at night, let alone in the full brunt of the sun.”

As the hallway slanted down, Spencer could feel the temperature of the air rising. They stopped just before the gaping exit to the hatching grounds, so D’vid could point out the currently unused chamber where they would go directly after Impressing to feed and care for their newly born hatchlings. Then he smiled and started moving again.

Spencer wasn’t the only one staring around slack jawed as the stepped out onto the fabled hatching ground sands. The space was huge, with great stone walls rose high above them, marked by the black maws to individual weyrs. D’vid led them forward to where the forty-two eggs set nestled in the warm, pale sands. Just beyond the eggs lay Brooth, watching the candidates, her front legs resting on either side of the large, golden queen egg. There were a few sighs of relief when the candidates saw that Haley was standing beside her dragon. Brooth’s eyes might be a calm shade of blue, but the sheer size of the golden queen was intimidating in itself.

“Move about among the eggs,” D’vid said. “Don’t be afraid to touch them and examine them. Girls, you should go speak with weyrwoman Haley, and see the queen egg.”

Spencer shifted as the others began to move around. He looked longingly after Penelope and Jennifer as they headed off with the other girls. He lingered on the outskirts of the eggs, moving to stand by one that had a faintly bluish tint to it, with swirls of green and gold.

Reaching out, Spencer laid his palm against the warm surface of the shell. He had half expected it to feel like the wherry eggs he was so used to handling in the kitchens, but this was so much more different, so much more alive. It had the texture of expensive, soft hide, but felt strong beneath his fingers. He was sure that even if he’d had no idea what it was, he would know that there was something alive beneath his palm.

***

When tasks were assigned the following day, Spencer found himself down in the kitchens with a girl he didn’t know. She was quiet and pale skinned, with straight dark hair and one glance at her clothes and her hands told him she was probably the daughter of a lord holder. He felt annoyed, from the few times he’d worked with such girls and boys so far, they’d been nothing but whiny about doing anything close to hard labor.

Emily, however, as he soon learned her name was, seemed quite the opposite. She took orders from the headwoman of the kitchens, and ran quickly back and forth between the storerooms and the cooks, or to bring fresh pots of hot klah to the dragonriders who stopped by.

One of the boys working in the storeroom that day was a tall, dark skinned lad from Ista, and he grinned at Spencer as he passed over a crate of tubers. “She’s moving even faster than you are, Pretty Boy.”

“Yeah...” Spencer glanced over his shoulder at Emily’s retreating back. “Where’s she from?”

“Her parents are the lord and lady holder of Lemos, how - “ but the boy stopped, noting the Harper blue accents on Spencer’s tunic. “Right, you’re from the other side of the continent.” He winked. “I’m Derek. How many of these crates do you need?”

“Two, if you could bring one actually...” Spencer waited and led the way back towards the kitchens.

“Have you heard about what’s going on in some of the smaller cot holds?” Derek asked, his tone a low, almost conspiratorial whisper.

Spencer frowned. “No. Though I noticed weyrleader A’ron was upset about something the other day.”

“He’s always upset about something,” Derek said. “Nah, apparently there’s like...some sort of mental sickness or something going around. I’m talking bad, people attacking each other for no reason.”

“I know there were some deaths at Fort Weyr a while ago,” Spencer said, frowning slightly. “No one seemed to know exactly what, but we lost a few dragon riders.”

They stepped into the pantry of the kitchen and Derek shook his head. “I don’t think this clutch came too soon. Dark times are a coming, like my mama said before I left. Dark times, harper.”

“There’ve been nine bronze riders attacked across Pern.” Emily appeared suddenly in the door to the pantry, looking at the two boys. “Eight of them are dead, the ninth is alive but his dragon is dead.”

Spencer and Derek gaped at her. To lose your dragon...most riders committed suicide if that happened. Derek stared at Emily. “How in the name of Faranth do you know that?”

“Because he was a rider at Telgar Weyr, so my father knew of him,” Emily said, wiping her hands on the apron she wore. “Foyet, formerly F’yet rider of bronze Georth. Apparently after he recovered from the attack he moved to a small hold up in the mountains.”

“The other night...” Spencer said. “I was speaking to J’son, and A’ron came and said there was an urgent message from Telgar, some sort of trouble.”

Emily shrugged, taking a few of the tubers from the crate in Spencer’s hands. “Whatever it is, it’s not our problem.”

“Yeah,” Spencer put the crate on a shelf and smiled lightly. “Shouldn’t poke around, I’d rather not get in trouble before the hatching.” Despite that, as he finished up his tasks for the day, Spencer couldn’t help but wonder why the Benden weyrleader would be concerned with one former dragon rider in the north.

***

Spencer was a bit surprised, but pleased, when Emily and Derek both joined him, Penelope and Jennifer at breakfast the following morning.

“We were lugging the ingredients for the sweet rolls back and forth all yesterday,” Derek said, holding up one of the offending - and delicious - pastries. “Figured we might as well enjoy them together.”

Spencer grinned, and introduced Penelope and Jennifer to the other two. He was just picking up a roll himself when Jennifer gasped. “Do you guys hear that?!”

They all fell silent. For a moment Spencer heard nothing, and then, faintly, a low humming that seemed to fill the air, growing louder as the minutes passed. By now all of the candidates in the hall were quiet, momentarily confused.

Jennifer was the first to shout, “That’s the dragons! The eggs are hatching!”

There was a great flurry of motion as the candidates jumped to their feet and scrambled to get back to their rooms, followed by the less anxious and highly amused senior riders. Spencer and Derek ran back towards the boys quarters, and Spencer rushed into his room to grab the white robe that hung on the wall by his bedside. Feeling a little ridiculous, he wriggled into it, then darted back into the hall to meet up with the others.

His heart was pounding excitedly in his chest as the candidates filed, none too calmly, down towards the hatching grounds. J’son, being the weyrlingmaster - the rider who would be ultimately in charge of the new batch of riders - waited for them, and quickly herded them into a neater group before leading the way out onto the hatching grounds.

It was nothing like when they first went to see the eggs. First of all, there was the sound, the humming of the dragons overlaid by the excited chatter of the people now filing into the ranks of stands. Above their heads, dragons winked in and out of Between, bringing people from all corners of the continent; Lords and ladies, craftmasters, families of the candidates. Spencer wished vaguely that his mother could be there, but he knew the healers would never allow her even a brief travel Between.

And then there was the excitement, tangible in the air. As the candidates flowed out onto the sands, forming a half circle around the eggs, Spencer looked up and could see the bright colors in the dragon’s eyes. Brooth seemed particularly happy, her eyes a glorious sky blue as she sat on her ledge over the sands, letting out delighted little bursts of dragonsong as she waited to see her hatchlings.

The stands, which could hold well over a thousand people, Spencer had no doubt, were nearly full. So it was almost eerie to hear the utter silence when the dragons abruptly stopped their humming. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath; it wouldn’t be long.

A sharp crack split the air, and all eyes were drawn to a large egg at the center of the group as it broke and opened, revealing a little bronze dragon. There were cheers at that; it was a good sign. The hatchling swung his head from side to side, keening softly, and then started towards a boy at the far end of the group, who cried out in surprise and ran to meet the dragon, crying out his new companions name for all to hear. After he regained composure, he and the dragon started back inside.  By then two more shells were breaking, a  blue and a brown, and two more boys walked off the hatching ground, pleased.

The sun slowly climbed higher as the candidates one by one Impressed their dragons, the sands now littered with broken shell. The girls stood in a group closest to the queen egg, which hadn’t hatched yet.

A lovely, forest green dragon came forth, and without hesitating made her way straight for Jennifer. Jennifer knelt, and Spencer could see the sunlight shining off a few stray tears on her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around the dragon. “Her name is Jareauth!”

After nearly two hours, ten of the forty-two eggs remained, including the queen. The candidates were growing visibly more anxious, as there were still a good number of them. Spencer met Emily’s eyes across the sands and she made a silly face at him.

Then her expression grew disbelieving. Everyone had fallen silent. Another bronze had hatched, looked around, and then started tottering towards the group of girls. Spencer frowned, bronzes never Impressed girls. Golden queens always did, greens often did and blues did on rare occasion (There had been blue Seaveth fifteen minutes ago who picked a young girl named Ashley), but Bronzes and browns never chose girls!

And yet, the little bronze stopped right at Emily’s feet. He reared up, almost like he was reaching for her. Emily’s eyes were wide and unblinking. She tried to say something, then cleared her throat. “His name is Prentith!”

A moment of silence, then a roar of applause. Spencer looked to the crowd and could see the women were doing most of the shouting, and weyrwoman Haley was on her feet in excitement. D’vid had to step down to take the dazed looking Emily by the arm and lead her and the hatchling back to the exit.

Next to Spencer, Derek let out a breath. “Shards, man, I knew Emily was something else, but that was just...wow.”

Nine dragons, and then eight, and then a magnificently bright bronze, the largest one yet, barreled right into Derek, who stumbled backwards. He let out a delighted whoop, then bellowed, “His name is Morganth!”

“Congratulations,” Spencer said, feeling unbelievably happy for his friend. He clasped Derek’s arm, and the other boy gave him a one armed hug before rushing off the sands with Morganth.

Five eggs, and the queen, and sixteen candidates still stood on the sands. Spencer could feel tense anxiety building in his stomach and had to close his eyes for a moment. He had to remind himself that he might not Impress. Not everyone could. His friends had, and Penelope still had a better chance of it than he did. He opened his eyes and looked at Penelope, who, like the other girls, kept shooting looks between the golden egg, and the two small eggs on the sands that most likely contained greens.

Maybe it was good that his mother wasn’t here after all.

Penelope jumped up and down waving her hands. Spencer blinked, and saw she was waving and grinning excitedly at him. Had she Impressed? Did he miss something?

_Hey!_

Something pressed against Spencer’s leg. He looked down, cried out in surprise, and actually fell backwards onto the hot sands. A little green dragon, her hide a bright springtime green with a faint sheen of silver, was staring up at him. When he fell over, her eyes began to whirl in a worried mix of colors and she staggered closer to him.

_Oh! Are you alright?_ And then, in a tone so piteous that Spencer actually felt his heart starting to break, she asked, _Don’t you like me?_

Spencer gasped and wrapped his arms around the little hatchling, pulling her still slightly damp body close to him. He felt her wings, still trembling a little, fold against his sides.

_My name is Reith._

“You’re perfect,” Spencer whispered, blinking and feeling a few tears roll down his cheeks.

_Good. I love you._ And she pressed her snout to his ear.

“Lad!” J’son had hurried over when all Spencer did was sit in the sand hugging his dragon. “Lad, get up off your rear and tell us her name!”

“Reith,” Spencer said, shaken out of his post-Impression daze. He got up to his feet, and said louder, “Her name is Reith!”

Reith butted her head against him. _I’m hungry, find me something to eat._

Resting his hand on her head, Spencer - S’ncer now - walked his new friend back inside. After taking a bowl of meat from the rider helping out the new pairs. He spotted D’rek sitting with Jennifer and Emily, and went to join them.

“Oh! She’s beautiful,” Jennifer said, watching as Reith took a seat beside Jareauth. Morganth watched them for a moment, then turned his attention back to the food D’rek was handing him.

S’ncer sat, letting Reith crawl halfway into his lap so he could feed her, the contented feelings coming from his new companion filling him with warmth. He looked over at Emily, whose Prentith was snoozing now, his belly full. She looked both pleased and more than a little smug, fully aware that the others were shooting her curious look.

Then, Brooth’s trumpet from outside told them all the queen egg had finally hatched. The name of the new queen was lost in the roar of the crowd, and S’ncer found himself holding his breath, wondering who it had been. They all looked up as they heard footsteps.

Penelope appeared in the doorway, tears rolling down her cheeks just as fast as she brushed them away. Spencer felt his heart drop so suddenly that Reith looked up in confusion.

And then the little golden queen poked her head out from behind Penelope, letting out a soft coo.

“Her name is Garcith,” Penelope whispered, walking over to her friends.

S’ncer dropped the bowl and went to hug her. “Our new weyrwoman.”

“Shhh!” Penelope said, eyes wide. “Don’t say that. I’m not ready for that yet.”

“You will be,” said a voice from beside them, and S’ncer looked up, stepping back respectfully as he gazed at weyrwoman Haley. She put her hand on Penelope’s shoulder. “Come, I’ll help you feed Garcith.”

As S’ncer sat down, sighing when he realized Reith had inhaled the last of the meat, D’rek grinned around at all of them. “Looks like we’ve got the beginning of the best wing of dragons to ever fly the skies of Pern.”

Pulling his sleepy dragon into his lap - he wouldn’t be able to do that for long, they grew quickly - S’ncer grinned and had to agree. ****  



	3. {{Note to my readers!}}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So sorry there's been a huge delay - some real life problems got in the way. Anyway, Dragonminds is at the top of my project list again. I'm also revamping chapters 1 and 2, so when I update next, you may want to reread them! I promise it will be worth it.

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